Q: From deep inside Raiders country, I'm wondering why the difference between what Ryan Clady signed for this week and what he turned down last year doesn't seem like all that much to me. And do you think it was a good move for the Broncos? Do they have anything to worry about?

A: Charles, the current collective bargaining agreement has made things a little more difficult for veteran free agents to find what they are looking for, in terms of long-term security and guaranteed money, in free agency.

And if you're making a list of important items to a veteran free agent in the NFL, guaranteed money is at the top of the list almost without fail, followed well in the distance by long-term security. The feeling in NFL locker rooms is teams release players all the time before the contracts are up, so they had better to get the money up front.

And in the end, guaranteed money was likely the biggest hurdle throughout the league. So, for the negotiations between Clady and the Broncos to end, it took both the team and Clady to give a little, to come off their well-worn positions, to close the deal.

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When Clady turned away a five-year, $50 million deal last year, that offer contained about $28 million in guaranteed money. Clady wanted more of the deal's total in the first three years of the contract, too.

At the time, the Broncos didn't feel the need to adjust from that, given they believed they could use the franchise tag on Clady and continue to negotiate once the 2012 season ended.

A look at the numbers this time shows $33 million in guaranteed money, including a portion that's fully guaranteed as well as a portion that contains some language regarding injuries. Clady can also earn $5 million more in incentives if he meets some benchmarks, including being voted all-pro twice in the next four years.

Health was a question in the talks overall, given Clady previously had surgery to repair a torn tendon in his knee and is still recovering from surgery to repair a torn labrum in his right shoulder. Clady is not yet fully healed and is not expected to be ready for the opening of training camp later this month. But he is expected to be ready by mid-August or so.

It was no accident that negotiations picked up a little steam after the conclusion of minicamp last month when the team's head trainer, Steve Antonopulos, was scheduled to visit Clady in person to examine the shoulder and measure the progress of Clady's recovery.

It was to be the first real look the team had at Clady's shoulder during Clady's recovery, given Clady had skipped the team's offseason workout program.

The Broncos came away with enough optimism to boost their total offer slightly — first to $51.5 million, then to $52.5 million — and move some additional money into the "guaranteed" pile. And Clady and his representatives moved a bit from their original demands, including figures regarding the total amount of the deal as well as the yearly average.

Toss in the uncertainty the Broncos have in the offensive line as a whole with Chris Kuper trying to return from ankle surgery and center J.D. Walton now out until at least late October after an additional ankle surgery, and the Broncos seemed more inclined to do what they needed to do to get Clady back into the fold for the long term.

From the team's perspective, the injuries are always a concern, especially since players don't routinely get healthier as they get older. Clady has also had two significant procedures — shoulder, knee — over the last three seasons. That is worth at least some pause in all of this.

It's why the shoulder exam was a key moment to wrap up the recent negotiations and was likely a mandatory item before the team would finish any talks on a long-term deal.

To his credit, however, Clady has not missed a game in his career — 80 consecutive regular-season starts and three playoff starts — so the Broncos are paying for that reliability. The Broncos need that reliability to continue now that he has the contract he has coveted in hand.

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